Thursday, April 12, 2012

Now's the Time: Stefon Harris & Blackout

I'm pleased that Black Radio, Robert Glasper's vital new fusion of jazz, funk and hip hop, is garnering positive attention. I'm less certain that it's any more innovative than Urbanus, the 2009 album by Stefon Harris & Blackout. Harris may lack Glasper's marketing savvy, but anyone who's caught one of his frequent performances in Kansas City knows that he's an exceptional artist. Harris returns to the Gem Theater on Friday.

...and he happens to create music year after year that is more advanced in craftsmanship and conception than most music happening here in KC.

Don't get me wrong, I'm damn proud of our scene, but the sarcasm comes across as insecurity...it's pretty transparent to try to belittle a musician that is widely recognized by distinguished musicians, critics and laymen alike, of DIVERSE musical background, as an important artist and modern master.

It doesn't have to be your taste, but to try to belittle it makes you seem really foolish.

Like I said in my post. I wasn't being sarcastic. I wasn't belittling. I was expressing my genuine appreciation for Mr. Harris. But knowing the interwebz like I do, I felt the need to specifically say, this is not sarcasm. Take your reading between-the-lines and judgement-calling and shove it, thank you very much.